Taiwan will extend and reform its period of mandatory military service to one year as the country continues to contend with heightened tensions with China, Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen announced at a press conference Tuesday.
Why it matters: Taiwan's current four-month mandatory military service program is no longer sufficient to meet the country's combat readiness "in terms of quantity and quality of training," Tsai said.
Several U.S. Jewish leaders during a meeting with Israeli officials earlier this month warned that racist and extremist moves by the new Israeli government could seriously hamper support for Israel among Jews in the U.S., six sources who either attended the meeting at the Israeli embassy in Washington or were briefed on it told Axios.
Why it matters: The incoming Israeli government is expected to be the country's most right-wing ever. A senior Israeli official said the meeting at the embassy represented the anxiety the organized U.S. Jewish community has about the incoming Israeli government over its expected policies towards Jews in the diaspora and against democratic values.
China's National Health Commission announced it will no longer require travelers to quarantine upon entering the country in early January, Bloomberg reports.
The Russian military said it shot down a Ukrainian drone Monday on its way to one of its airbases deep inside Russia, per AP.
The big picture: It's the second time this month the Engels airbase, located more than 370 miles from Russia's eastern border with Ukraine, has been targeted, according to AP.
South Korea's military fired warning shots and launched fighter jets and helicopters Monday in response to five North Korean drones breaching the border, AP reports.
The big picture: It was the first time in five years that North Korean drones have violated South Korea's airspace.
Inflation, immigration and the Supreme Court consistently held Americans' interest over the course of a year in which most news cycles — from Will Smith's Oscars slap to monkeypox to the death of Queen Elizabeth — burned hot and fast.
Why it matters: Axios' annual analysis of Google Trends data shows the rise and fall of America's attention in a year of global upheaval.
China's military deployed to areas around Taiwan 71 planes and seven ships in 24 hours, according to the Taiwanese Defense Ministry.
Driving the news: The Chinese military's biggest incursion into Taiwan's air defense zone since Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit to the self-governing island in August occurred as Beijing denounced the U.S. over President Joe Biden signing into law Friday a defense spending bill that included provisions for Taiwan.
